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LANSING – Physical health insurers ramped up lobbying operations and far out-spent their behavioral health counterparts in the months before lawmakers pulled an about-face on who should manage billions of Medicaid dollars for mental health services.

Community mental health groups and allied advocacy groups spent about $52,400 on lobbying in 2016, nearly $8,700 more than their average from the previous three years, state records show. That happened as they fought to maintain management of Medicaid money for behavioral health.

However, lobbyists for the private insurers who currently manage Medicaid dollars for physical health spent a combined nearly $838,000 last year, about $21,000 more than their previous three years' average as they seek to take over the mental health dollars.

Figures for 2017 are not yet available.

That ramp-up happened as lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder's administration changed positions on the Medicaid issue — to the benefit of the physical health insurers.

In February 2016, Snyder called for the private health management organizations who oversee physical health spending to also take over mental health money by Oct. 1, 2016. Lawmakers denied that proposal and instead asked the administration to study the issue and make recommendations by spring 2017.

The administration did that last month, changing its position from 2016 and calling for the two funds to remain under separate management.

Last week, however, lawmakers in the Senate advanced a budget proposal that would give the mental health money to HMOs by 2020.

The HMOs lobbied on many issues besides behavioral health dollars, including the federal Affordable Care Act, said David Waymire, spokesman for the Michigan Association of Health Plans.

"The health plans have used all of the tools at their disposal … to help explain their position to the legislature," Waymire said.

Robert Sheehan, CEO of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards, conceded his group and its allies have less money than HMOs, but contended they have more constituents' voices on their side. That could still make a difference as lawmakers finalize the budget over the next several weeks, he said.

"That's the intent of every advocacy effort, to use all of those tools to move it forward," Sheehan said. "Some groups have more of one tool than another."